Columbia, South Carolina
Institutionalizing Data and Analysis into Police Intelligence and Practices
Project Overview
The Columbia SPI focused on implementing organizational change to become a more data-driven agency oriented towards using intelligence-led and evidence-based approaches. The Columbia SPI team developed the Integrated Data Exchange and Analysis (IDEA) Project (modeled after the British National Intelligence Model), which consisted of three pilot projects: targeting repeat and near-repeat burglaries in the city’s north region, improving the understanding and use of data-drive policing strategies department-wide, and using network analysis to build intelligence on gangs. As a result, the Columbia Police Department (CPD) developed a comprehensive gang intelligence database and experienced overall declines in both repeat and near-repeat burglaries in the intervention area.
Methods and Findings
- When surveying the Columbia, SC community, burglaries emerged as the top concern for residents of the target neighborhood, with 67 percent identifying it as a serious problem.
- Results of the intervention indicated overall declines in both repeat and near-repeat burglaries in the intervention area.
- The Columbia Police Department (CPD) was able to develop a consolidated gang intelligence database including 823 individuals and 1,451 ties among them.
